Mr Sphesihle Khanyile
Lecturer
Welkom Campus
Qualifications: Master of Arts (Media Studies, Wits) | BA Hons (Media Studies, Wits) | BA (Media Studies and Political Studies, Wits)
Professional Background
Mr Sphesihle Blessing Khanyile is a Media Studies Lecturer in the Communication Sciences Department at the Central University of Technology (CUT), Free State, Welkom Campus. He is also a PhD candidate in Media Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
His scholarship critically examines the intersections of media, religion, representation, digital culture, and social transformation, with particular attention to the prosperity gospel, multimodal critical discourse analysis, and decoloniality through African languages. He has published in peer-reviewed journals and edited academic books, presented his research at international conferences, and independently contributed critical commentary to isiZulu newspaper platforms, including Isolezwe.
Areas of Expertise
- • Digital Discourse Analysis
- • Media and Religion
- • Indigenous Media Representation
- • Prosperity Gospel
- • African New Pentecostalism
Selected Publications
- • Khanyile, S. B. (2025). "#The Funda Thembi Trend: Social Media Sensibilities Towards Pentecostal Online Humour." E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (EHASS), 6(5), 617–629.
- • Khanyile, S. B. (2025). "We are decolonizing the pulpit: Discursive postures of Pentecostal-styled preachers venerating ancestors in South Africa." Simulacra, 8(1), 35–48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21107/sml.v8i1.28613
- • Moyo, R., & Khanyile, S. (2023). "Disrupting nature? A critical analysis of the genderless toilet drive represented in South African newspapers." Simulacra, 6(1), 137–152.
- • Khanyile, S. B. (2023). "Representing Prosperity Gospel in South African News Media: A Discursive Reading." In M. S. Kgatle, J. S. Thinane, & C. J. Kaunda (Eds.), Commercialisation of Religion in South Africa: A Pentecostal Approach (pp. 101–125). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
- • Khanyile, S. B. (2023). From Christianity to Plentianity: Reading discourses of human flourishing, prosperity gospel, and black emancipation in King HQ Nala’s virtual sermons. In K. Holter, M. S. Kgatle, & C. Banda (Eds.), African New Prophetic Pentecostalism and human flourishing: A South African perspective (pp. 97–142). Peter Lang.
